Titanium
by NutterButter182
Summary: Cary's...different. Everyone knows this, everyone hates this. Nobody knows how different he is though. Because Cary has a gift, a dangerous gift, one that shouldn't see the light of day.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello again! This is a reload, turns out I uploaded the _wrong__ version. _So there was a bunch of mistakes. Thanks for understanding3

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN SUPER 8! (Oh my god if I did...) I also don't own the song or the music video Titanium. **

**Warning: Language and homophobia **

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Lick. Lick.

Cary can't stop licking his teeth. No metal or crooks, not since Saturday, when he got the fucking things removed. He can't stop, even when the rest of the gang gives him weird looks…Not that they are much of a gang anymore. It's not that they don't hang out, because they did, but not at school. Never at school. Charles has his football buddies, Joe has Alice, Preston has the math nerds, Martin has track, and Cary…well he doesn't have any group specifically, but that's fine. He still has his explosives, which, surprisingly enough, translates into chemistry. He's good at chemistry.

"Mr. Adams, if you could tell us…Mr. Adams! Pay attention!" Cary winces as he gets ripped out of his thoughts by the goddamn _whiny _voice of his English teacher, the bitchiest woman at Lillian High School, maybe all of Ohio. She looks down at him. "Thank you for joining us, Mr. Adams. I assume whatever you were thinking was enjoyable?"

Cary stiffens then retorts back, as he always does. He might have lost his braces, but that doesn't mean he's lost his mouth. "Oh yes, Mrs. Patton, much more enjoyable than your half-assed teaching. Do you even try?" Everyone is quiet, looking at him in his back-of-the-class seat with open mouths and wide eyes. He just rolls his. Just as Mrs. Patton opens her mouth to bring justice to her classroom-

BBBRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNGGGG!

Cary's out of his seat and into the hallway before she can say "Detention!" (Which is pretty damn fast.) Grinning at himself for once again outsmarting his English teacher, he walks through the end-of-the-day hallways, towards the front door. Before he can vanquish any real distance, he hears them: the people who stand in his way and try to break his barriers, also known as the bench-warming third stringers. "Hey faggot! Running away?" The main idiot, Brett Evans, is standing there smirking with his cronies, his tiny brain running sluggishly behind flat eyes.

Cary sighs, before turning around. He has ignored them once, only once, and went home with his eyes so swollen shut he couldn't go to school the next day. "What, do you want this time, you pussies? Do you not know the meaning of fuck off?" He'd get out his lighter, if it wouldn't get him expelled. Cary swallows, but he hides his fear, as they get closer backing him against a locker. He curses God for making him this way, a whole foot shorter than Brett, and built like a girl, even with his coat on. This makes him easy to pick on, which makes life a lot fucking harder than it has to be. If only they knew what he can do…

Cary is once again yanked from his thoughts, this time by a voice he dreads for an entirely different reason. "That's funny coming from you, queer. Seeing as you are the pussy and I am the real man."

Cary can't help it. He snorts. "Oh, yes. Some man you are. My father was a better 'man' than you, and that wife-beater fucking left. Plus, you can't catch a pass to save your balls."

Brett glares at him, and he glares back, chin up. He likes to say it was in defiance... but mainly it was because he wouldn't be able to see his accuser if he didn't. "It's no mystery your father left; he didn't want some queer for a son." Cary grinds his teeth, but doesn't say anything. If he does, all hell breaks lose, and he can't get another detention. He _can't_. Brett scowls, noticing the lack of reaction, and keeps talking. "Or maybe it was because your mom's a whore, and you can't help but notice your little sister looks nothing like you." Cary looks away…because it's true. Hayley looks nothing like him, and a lot like the next door neighbor's daughter. Not that it matters, because Hayley is his sister and he loves her. He would die for her. Cary notices Brett is still talking, but this time, it's not about him, his dad, or his mom; he's talking bad about Hayley. "...probably going to end up a filthy whore like her mom, not that I'd mind." He smirks at his cronies, before turning back to Cary. "I bet she'll be just as pretty as her older brother." Cary looks at him, not believing he went that far, but he did and now Cary is mind-numbingly furious.

His blood is boiling and all he can see is red; all he wants to see is Brett lying on the ground, broken. So this image was what he attempts. Cary launches himself at the other boy: punching, kicking, scratching, biting, giving all he has and a lot that he doesn't. Because Hayley is six years old, she can't protect herself; which is why he will, why he _has_ too. He won't forgive himself if he doesn't. But Brett is bigger and stronger than he is. He picks Cary up and throws him, his head hitting glass and cracking it. Cary slumps to the ground, head spinning and pounding much more than should be possible. He looks up to see Brett and his buddies walking towards him, people crowding around to watch the smart-mouthed kid who nobody liked that much get the shit beat out of him by Brett. No one cares that he might've helped save Lillian all of three years ago because nobody knew. (He still has nightmares about the government coming for him because he let slip what he knew.) He can hear whispers of the chant, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" through the pounding in his head. He can see his friends, faces worried, not stepping up when Brett smirks down at him and kicks him. Repeatedly.

Cary can't breathe; Brett won't let him. His foot keeps kicking Cary in his stomach. He remembers Preston once telling him that if the beating goes on for too long he could end up spitting up blood. He can feel it coming up. Cary knows he needs to change positions, knows that this isn't going to end well if he doesn't, but he just can't move. All he can hear now is the jeering of the students as he spits up blood, staining his new smile. Brett stops and Cary reacts, putting his hands behind his head and curling into a ball. He knows it's dangerous, that it will hurt people, but right now he doesn't care; he's in too much pain to care…plus, if anyone asks him, Brett deserves it.

Cary can feel the…whatever it is - he doesn't actually have a name for it - rise up. Growing stronger off the pain and anger and_ fear _that he is feeling and pushing it into a ball behind his chest. The pulsing is unnerving, the deep-set shaking he can feel in his very soul, and it's growing stronger as Brett grins at him down at him. He can see his own blood smeared across the floor and he can hear someone crying, most likely Alice, for Brett to stop. Brett won't, of course; he never does. Brett nudges Cary with his foot, making him look up. He smiles, a horrible smile that chills Cary to his bones. Cary sees him raise his foot and ducks his head back down. His friends cry out "CARY! NO!" His last thought is _I'm sorry…_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey y'all! So I think this one is a little bit tamer, but I might've cried while writing it. I've decided that while it is pretty hard to get too much of Super 8, being able to quote entire sections to friends might be a bit much. Especially when these friends already think you're already some sort of dancing monkey. So enjoy and review. Love to the editor from the stars, this never would have ended out as good as it did if it weren't for her. Plus I have a cover now! :D Peace!

**Disclaimer: Don't own Super 8, I'm pretty sure that honor belongs to J.J Abrams (Please put in comments whether I'm right or an idiot, I'd appreciate it(:) **

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Because _of course_ his friends know. How can they not? Every time Joe would wake up cold at a sleepover to find Cary hogging the blankets... and floating feet above his head. Or when Preston's mother insulted Cary's mom within earshot and her oven caught fire. He was blamed, naturally, until they couldn't find any evidence that he did start it. Preston still _knows_ that it was Cary, just as Martin knows it was him that broke the mirror when Martin scared him. They all _know._ And they are all scared for Cary. That kind of ability isn't useful in a place like Lillian. In a town where nobody likes different, Cary already has too much attention. If anybody finds out, his friends worry, Cary won't be around long enough to say goodbye. If anybody finds out… Cary will die. They know this the same way they know about Cary's gift. It's just a given, a terrifying reality.

So they all protect him, lie away the accidents that happen around him, and they marvel him, because it really is a wondrous ability. How he came by it... they have their suspicions, but for now they will worry, because Cary's gotten himself in trouble. Big trouble. And for once they can't lie it away to their parents or the staff. It seems that Lillian will know before it's ready….

Alice thinks it's their fault; they should do something! Anything! She can only watch because of the hand in hers once Cary starts coughing blood up. It's horrifying, she can see Martin hiding tears with his sleeve across the crowd. Charles has his eyes closed and Preston looks frozen. In shock, most likely. Joe won't let go of her hand, and it's really starting to hurt, but none of them do anything. They could face a train wreck and an alien, but give them a bully and what do they do? Nothing. Alice feels physically sick with disgust at herself. And then she sees the glowing. They all react at once, screaming, "CARY! NO!" Before the light hits, her last thought is, _I should've stood up._

Joe can't breathe, his vision narrows and he feels sick. Cary's bleeding, he's crying, he's in pain! And no matter how much he wants to, how much it hurts him not to, Joe won't help. He can't, not with Alice gripping his hand, not with Charles warning him with his eyes, not when, if they get involved, so will Brett's friends. His stomach twists with every kick, with every groan that comes out of Cary. Just as his eyes become uncomfortable and he has to blink, Cary starts to glow, pupils growing over irises until no sky blue was left. Joe closes his eyes, his feeling of trepidation and guilt multiplying with every pulse he could almost sense of Cary's power. Tensing he shouts, "CARY! NO!" Just as it washes over him… Joe thinks, _I could've helped._

Charles can't get rid of the guilt. The guilt that plagues him because it's his fault any of this is happening. He's the one that set Brett against Cary years before in the locker room after a game, telling a secret that wasn't his to tell, revealing information that would lead up to this day and the terrifying ending it will have. But his mind, a very desperate part of his mind, tries to tell him, it's not all your fault. Brett was popular and he pressured you. Cary, being the smartass he is, already pissed Brett off; you didn't set him against the blonde. _Plus_, the darkest corner of Charles's mind adds, _maybe Cary _deserves_ this. Maybe he has since you saw him kiss your cousin. Your extremely male cousin. Maybe because no matter how hard he tries to hide himself, you know – all of you know: He is __**gay.**__ He is all the derogatory terms Brett spits at him like poison._ Charles puts this thought away, stores it in the locked box it escaped from. He won't blame anybody but himself this time around, because Cary already has enough problems. Looking at Cary's blood, getting smeared by his hands and Brett's feet, brought tears he would always deny, emotions that he'd never reveal. Shouting at Cary "CARY! NO!" and watching the world go gold as it blurred… _If only I was stronger…_

Martin is crying. He isn't ashamed, not this time around. No one is calling him Smartin or telling him to get control of his emotions and be a man, because only Cary does that, and right at this moment Martin is watching him die. He's sure Cary is dying; people who aren't dying don't bleed like that. But, then again, the only reason he does well in biology is because Cary teaches him. Martin wipes his eyes, he can hear the track team behind him cheering, but he is too scared to face them. Out of all of them, he is the one that stuck with Cary the longest at school. It was Cary's idea for Martin to join track, to help him get used to his leg again. As soon as the team accepted him, he abandoned Cary. Everyone abandoned Cary.

When Cary ducks, Martin feels the air in his lungs leave him. He takes off his glasses, rubbing his eyes and then closing them, not wanting see Cary's blonde hair tipped red anymore. But instead he's seeing broken blue eyes tinged with pain and desperation in the darkness of his mind. As the world started to vibrate, Martin sniffs, he can hear the rest of the gang yelling but he just can't. Not after what they all did to Cary, leaving him, talking about him, ignoring him. Martin knows he deserves what comes next, and he welcomes the blackness with one last thought: _I should've been better…_

Preston doesn't understand how his friends didn't see this one coming. Cary is different; the town doesn't like different. Cary is careless; he was bound to cause trouble. It really should've been expected; honestly, it's the only possibility he can see. He tried to warn Cary, tried to warn them all, but they ignored him. Preston sees another kick land in Cary's stomach, hears the groan that escapes Cary's mouth and shudders. Preston wishes now more than ever, seeing Cary on the ground like this, that they listened to him. He's the one that knows the numbers, but the gang never looked at him the same after The Visitor. Whenever he spoke up about it, they told him he was overreacting, that he was a wimp. And maybe he was, but they always forgot that he's the smartest, not Joe or Charles or even Alice. He's the one who can remember pi past 3.14, but what does that matter when everyone else had an adventure and saved the town?

And now, look where not listening led all of them: watching Cary get hurt without the ability to do anything. The funny thing is, instead of feeling like saying "I told you so," all he feels like doing is crying… Preston isn't one to let a moment to prove himself right go by, but it feels wrong to do so now, when Cary is being hurt right before his very eyes. When Cary ducks his head down and Brett raises his foot to land one more blow - this one most likely going to break Cary's already cracked ribs (he's been keeping track) – Preston doesn't need to see any glow or feel any vibration to know what's going to happen next, it's obvious. Opening his mouth and letting out a yell, most likely forming the words "CARY! NO!" Preston starts to black out. It's his body reacting to the... whatever it is… coming out of Cary's body. His last thought before darkness completely overwhelms him is, _I wish I was wrong…_

As the energy forces itself out of Cary's body, he slumps to the floor. Opening his eyes, he watches the destruction that it... no… _he_, is causing: bodies are crumbling before flying backwards, metal is turning in on itself, the papers closest to him are ripping as they fly, glass is breaking. Cary watches this happen with half-lidded eyes as pain consumes his body. It's like his brain is being ripped to pieces as the rest of him is being sewn back together. When it becomes too much, he closes his eyes, slipping slowly into the peaceful darkness…


	3. Chapter 3

Hey! Sorry it took so long, just between Christmas break and school starting I haven't had a moment to myself in a loooong time. So I do have a question for you lovelies. Should Martin and Cary get together? I'd love your opinion since I've completely undecided on this one. Reviews would be amazing and I use all the helpful hints I can get. Enormous thanks to my beta, she is a goddess among the people. Enjoy! (Please?)

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Super 8 or the music video of Titanium of which some of this idea came from.

P.S: To Harry-Potter-Magic, I watched the movie Super 8 then immediately after watched the music video of Titanium and the two just mushed themselves together and BOOM! My baby was born. I'm glad you like it so much:) That makes me happier than you'll ever know.

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When Cary wakes the school is silent, bodies are slumped, and the hall is ravaged. Cary closes his eyes again and groans, rolling over. His mind hurt, his brain felt too big for his head, but his body felt fine, better than fine and that shouldn't be possible. Cary remembers, vaguely, the fear and blood before he went unconscious. He can remember people screaming his name, his friends? He didn't know anymore, he's guessing it was his friends, even though they don't talk at school and Charles sometimes will join in the bullying at school. Cary opens his eyes again, only to see Brett's face inches from his own, eyes open and mouth hanging open. Cary sits up fast with a scream that reverberates through the hallway. Cary covers his mouth before looking around.

There was nothing spared for hundreds of feet, papers and people and glass covered the floor. Around Cary, in an almost perfect circle, was nothing. Almost like everything had disintegrated around him. Except Brett, who had collapsed within Cary's circle. Looking at Brett's body he gets a sense of…fear? Despair? Regret? He doesn't know. Cary closed his eyes again, wishing for this new world to go away, for everything go back when they were perfect, when he had his friends and the worst thing he could do was set objects on fire. He wished he had listened to Preston. He wished he had been more careful.

Cary hears groaning and his blue eyes pop open – he hadn't realized he had closed them again – meeting Joe's brown ones. Joe groans again, before standing up on shaking feet. "How…God..." Joe presses his hand to his head watching Cary with wide eyes. "This isn't good, Cary. What did you do?" Joe leans against the wall near Cary, listening to the silence, worried about the future while Cary panics. What did he do? He has no idea... he just did it.

Cary looks around again, at the bodies specifically. Everyone seems to be breathing; most seem unharmed; all seem asleep. He looks at Joe, eyes wide with fear. "I have no idea Joe... I have no fucking clue." Cary stands, grabbing his hat, and walks over to Joe, making sure not to step on anyone, not that there were many people. Most of them had been blown back when Cary... exploded. He grabs Joe as he starts to slip down the wall he was leaning on. Cary looks into his brown eyes, his own blue ones blown wide with the terror of what happened here. "Joe, what did I do?" Cary asks in a small voice, biting his lips to keep from crying.

Joe shakes his head, not saying anything. He looks around, brown eyes picking up the limp bodies of his friends. He shakes Cary, bringing him out of his own little world. "Hey...maybe, maybe we should wake them up. I don't want to be here when people realize what you've done."

Cary flinches at the slight accusation he hear in those words, but doesn't comment, reaching down and shaking Alice as Joe tries to get his balance back. "Hey, Alice wake-up it's time to get up."

Alice, rolls over and opens her eyes, jumping slightly when she sees Cary's face so close to her own. "Jesus, Cary!" Cary stands up and stands back a bit, muttering sorry, seemingly lost in his own world, walking away to wake up the others. Alice looks at him with wary eyes while she stands on rubbery legs. She looks to Joe, who's watching her with worried eyes.

"Are you okay?", he asks his voice soft, as if trying to make sure Cary doesn't hear, not wanting to make him feel guilty.

Alice nods, legs shaking and her head pounding. But that didn't matter right now. "Are you?"

He nods, looking at Cary who's trying to smack Charles awake. "Get up pussy, it's over." Charles flips him off but doesn't move anymore than that. Cary gives up with a sigh and an angry nudge of his foot before moving on to Martin. Alice smiles slightly and Joe watches Cary with worried eyes and a tight frown. He notices that the other students don't even seem to be stirring, something that frightens him as much as it relieves him. Cary's shaking Martin as Charles starts to roll over and heave his ass up.

Martin opens his eyes to a blurry world, with only colors recognizable. His glasses must have knocked off; the moving blur standing above him seems to realize this and moves away, only to come back with them. As he puts them on and lets his eyes adjust the blur speaks, "They must of fallen off when I..uh..you know." Martin blinks and sees Cary. Not even thinking about what he was about to do for once, he hugs him, making a kneeling Cary fall over, blonde hair spilling everywhere and leaving Cary with a bewildered expression. "You're not dead! Thank God, I thought you were dead."

Cary sits up awkwardly, patting Martin on the back. "Uh…okay Smartin, you can stop being a girl and let go of me at anytime."

Martin grins, letting go, sniffling and rubbing his nose. "You were bleeding so much, I didn't even know that bodies had that much blood."

Cary rolls his blue eyes, looking into Martin's hazel ones. "You're such an idiot, Smartin."

Cary gets up to Martin's small protestation of, "Don't call me that, you know I hate that.", and grins. Things were finally starting to go back before high school. Before they ignored him. Cary thinks for a second, his grin falling, but shakes his head and focuses again. Walking over to Preston and shaking him lightly, Cary whispers, not wanting anyone else to wake up.

As he does this, Charles gets up and stumbles over to Brett. Joe keeps an eye on both, something telling him that something was not right, that something was going to break this moment.

As Preston wakes and sees Cary safe and sound, he allows a moment of relief before he starts to nag good-naturedly about his safety. Cary rolls his eyes but smiles softly at him.

Charles stumbles to his feet and over Brett's body and sucks in a breath, eyes wide. "Guys, I think...I think he's dead."


End file.
